Presto! Pesto comes together quickly using common weed

11:46 AM,
Apr. 26, 2013

Pasta Primavera is tossed with a fresh pesto made from Purple Dead Nettles.

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Purple Dead Nettles is a member of the mint family, which is easy to determine by its square stalk. It's also edible, and the leaves and flowers can be used in salads, stir-fry or pesto. The greens are rich in vitamins, minerals and iron, and high in antioxidants.

Purple Dead Nettles (Lamium purpureum) thrives in fertile soil that has been worked. It's a herbaceous flowering plant that is native to Europe and Asia, but sprouts like the weed it is in cultivated gardens.

One thing to note before you make anything using wild greens and plants - be sure of what you are picking before eating! I have worn, ...